Thailand is rolling out new rules for 19 banking fees in stages

Eight fee items entered the July tranche

The first group included fees for deposit-account statements, financial-status certificates and maintenance of inactive deposit accounts. It also covered the charge for withdrawing cash on a credit card.

Several payment-related charges moved into the new framework at the same time, including certain inter-regional or communication charges for branch deposits, withdrawals and transfers, BAHTNET transfers and cheque deposits. The commission in lieu of exchange is also part of the 19-item package, but its implementation is split between July 1 and October 1.

This package regulates specific service charges. It does not itself set a foreign-exchange rate, nor should it be read as a general change to lending or deposit interest rates.

For practical context, see Thailand economy and finance. This development also connects with Thailand’s 19 Bank Fee Changes: Caps and Effective Dates.

September added cards, payment services and SME loan charges

A larger second tranche took effect on September 1. It covers entry and annual fees for basic ATM and debit cards, selected transactions through ATMs and cash-handling machines, bill-payment services and same-day Bulk Payment transfers.

Five SME credit charges are also included in the September group: the front-end fee, an extension of the drawdown period on a term loan, renewal of a revolving credit line, a prepayment fee and a credit-line cancellation fee. Another stage is scheduled for October 1 for electronic BAHTNET transfers, alongside the later part of the commission-in-lieu rule.

The timing matters because the 19 items did not all change on July 1. Customers need to match the service they are using with the effective date that applies to that particular charge.

The transaction date determines which fee standard applies

BOT's FAQ says the new rate applies to a transaction once the relevant rule has taken effect, even if the customer's contract was signed earlier. Providers must also disclose revised fees before they start applying them and keep that information clear and current.

The framework prevents providers from simply replacing the lost fee income with new charges, higher unrelated fees or an interest-rate increase caused solely by the fee reduction. BOT does allow separate changes where there is a genuine reason, such as a material rise in operating costs, the end of a promotion or a change in customer risk. If a provider's system was not ready and it collected more than the new rule permits, the excess must be refunded from the applicable effective date.

For someone using a Thai bank account, the practical question is the charge for the transaction being made now, not the bank's older general tariff. The framework may impose a cap or a calculation standard rather than one identical price across every institution.